The Second Book of the Tao by Stephen Mitchell (Part 1)

 

I have been reading an outstanding book called. “The Second Book of the Tao” by Stephen Mitchell. If anyone is familiar with Tao Te Ching, then you will love this book. In the coming posts, I will start posting quotes from the book. I will include my own commentary, as this will help me understand the book better.

Let us begin with the first quote:

What is bestowed on us at birth

is called human nature.

The fulfillment of human nature

is called the Tao.

The cultivation of the Tao

is the deepest form of learning.

 

The Tao is the way things are,

which you can’t depart from

even for one instant.

If you could depart from it,

it wouldn’t be the Tao.

Therefore the Master

looks into her own heart

and respects what is unseen and unheard.

 

Nothing is more manifest than the hidden;

nothing is more obvious than the unseen.

Therefore the Master

pays attention to what is happening

within her innermost self.

Commentary:

When someone tells you, "You are born with it," you accept it. When scientists do experiments in the lab, hoping to find the cure for Cancer we praise them. However, when human civilization stops moving with human nature, we throw our hands up high because we believe we have not found the cure. Nevertheless, in reality, there is no cure, as we have ignored to move with human nature.

Look into your own heart first, before you judge nature. As all human beings are, nature and all things living is nature as well. Move with it and let nature and others guide you in understanding yourself.

Knowing that you can change your path in anyway, should be one of the reasons to keep waking up in the morning.